Aside

Contact Info

Research Interests

Skills

Disclaimer

Last updated on 2023-07-11.

Main

Kevin Walz, M.A. 

I plan to complete my PhD by fall 2024, and will be looking for a PostDoc position from then on.

Education

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

PhD in Political Science

N/A

2021 - 2024

Thesis: Sequences of democratic erosion - agents, opportunity structures and patterns of autocratization (Supervisor: Professor Claudia Landwehr)

Julius Maximilians University Würzburg

M.A. in Political and Social Sciences (1,0 - ‘with distinction’)

N/A

2017 - 2020

Thesis: The development of welfare states in post-socialist Central Eastern Europe: A comparative study based on partisan theory (Adviser: Professor Hans-Joachim Lauth; grade: 1,0)

  • Comparative Politics
  • Democracy Research
  • Welfare States

Julius Maximilians University Würzburg

B.A. in Political and Social Studies (2,2)

N/A

2012 - 2016

Thesis: Rational will formation and deliberative democracy: Is political self-determination in civil society possible? (Adviser: Professor Michael Becker; grade: 1,7)

  • Normative Political Theory
  • Comparative Politics

Research Experience

PhD student in Graduate Research Group Resilient Institutions

University of Mainz

N/A

2021 - 2024

  • Development of theory-conceptual and empirical access to democratic resilience
  • Empiric mixed-methods research on dissertation project

Professional Experience

Academic Assistant

Forum Soziale Bildung Benediktushöhe e.V.

N/A

2020 - 2021

  • Organization and conduction of educational events
  • Preparation of funding applications
  • Networking with schools and associations
  • Supervision of interns

Grants and Awards

PhD Scholarship

3-year PhD scholarship funded by the Gutenberg Council for Young Researchers of the University of Mainz

N/A

2021 - 2024

Teaching Experience

Theory and empiricism of democratic erosion

Instructor of advanced module course (B.A & M.Ed.) at University of Mainz

N/A

2022 - 2023

Tutorials on Introduction in Political Philosophy

Teaching assistant University of Würzburg

N/A

2018 - 2020

Tutorials on Introduction to Comparative Politics

Teaching assistant at University of Würzburg

N/A

2018 - 2020

Tutorials on Introduction to the Political System of the FRG

Teaching assistant at University of Würzburg

N/A

2018 - 2020

Publications

“Democracy - flexible, contestable or endangered?” Anniversary conference of the standing group ‘Demokratieforschung’ in the German Political Science Association (DVPW) on March 30 and 31, 2023

Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft

N/A

2023

Simon Bein, Dennis Kurrek, Kevin Walz.

A new game in town - Democratic resilience and the added value of the concept in explaining democratic survival and decline

IPP Discussion Paper Series

N/A

2022

Johannes Helgest, Lion Merten, Jana Niedringhaus, Matthias Rosenthal, Kevin Walz.

Work in progress

Sequences of democratic erosion

Book manuscript

N/A

Forthcoming

Kevin Walz.

Presentations and invited talks

Typologizing processes of autocratization: How to intergrate time, outcome, and context?

Presentation at the General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)

Prague, Czechia

September 2023

Kevin Walz.

Typologizing processes of autocratization: How to integrate time, outcome, and context?

Presentation at the Summer School on Electoral Democracy in Danger? organized by the Chair on Global Governance of the Sciences Po

Paris, France

July 2023

Kevin Walz.

Typologizing processes of autocratization: How to intergrate time, outcome, and context?

Presentation at the Workshop on Democracy in an age of autocratization organized by the Standing Group Political Regimes of the Italian Society of Political Science (SISP)

Milan, Italy

June 2023

Kevin Walz.

What is Anti-Pluralism?

Presentation at the trilateral Colloquium of the Departments of Political Theory of the Universities of Darmstadt, Gießen and Mainz

Darmstadt, Germany

May 2023

Kevin Walz

What is Anti-Pluralism, and if so, how many?

Presentation at the Anniversary Conference of the working group Democracy Research of the German Political Science Association (GPSA)

Berlin, Germany

March 2023

Kevin Walz.

Democratic Resilience. Potentials of a New Concept in the Empirical Study of Democracy

Presentation at the Conference Understanding Resiliencies of the Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research and the Roman-Germanic Central Museum

Mainz, Germany

November 2022

Claudia Landwehr, Kevin Walz.

A new game in town - Democratic resilience and the added value of the concept in explaining democratic survival and decline

Presentation at Conference Democracy between new crisis and new challenge

Messina, Italy

October 2022

Johannes Helgest, Lion Merten, Jana Niedringhaus, Matthias Rosenthal, Kevin Walz.

Trainings

Electoral Democracy in Danger?

5-day doctoral Summer School of the CERIUM-FMSH Chair on Global Governance/ Scienes Po including lectures by Markus Wagner, Sarah Birch, Natasha Wunsch, Hannah Werner, and Bert Bakker

Paris, France

July 2023

Process-Tracing Methods

10-day methods training at Radboud Summer School instructed by Derek Beach and Hilde van Meedgenburg

Nijmegen, Netherlands

June 2023

Data Visualization

Short course at Radboud Summer School instructed by Akos Mate

Nijmegen, Netherlands

June 2023

Reproducible Reports with Quarto and RMarkdown

PhD training course instructed by Julia Schulte-Cloos

Mainz, Germany

January 2023

Raw texting and revising

Writing workshop of The General Postgraduate Program (GPP) of University of Mainz

Online

September 2022

Academic Writing in Englisch

2-day writing workshop of The General Postgraduate Program (GPP) of University of Mainz

Online

August 2022

Comparative Research Designs

5-day methods training at Radboud Summer School instructed by Benoit Rihoux

Nijmegen, Netherlands

June 2022

Reading strategies and time management

Writing workshop of The General Postgraduate Program (GPP) of University of Mainz

Online

February 2022

Introduction to R Programming

Workshop at Data Science Summer School of the Hertie School Data Science Lab

Online

July 2021

Basic Training for Tutors

Tutoring and mentoring program KOMPASS of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Würzburg, Germany

2018

Organization of Academic Events

Orgainizing the Workshop “How to save Democracy?”

Responsibilites included conception and organization of a 2-day hybrid format workshop on contemporary challenges of democracy, as well as chairing two panels; hosted by the Graduate Research Group Resilient Institutions

Mainz, Germany

March 2023

Organizing the Workshop “Democratic Resilience and its challenges”

Responsibilities included conception and organization of a 1-day hybrid workshop on democratic resilience and challenges of contemporary democracy; hosted by the Graduate Research Group Resilient Institutions

Mainz, Germany

September 2021